Black Male “Activist” Really, Really Loves Black Women*

“Ahh!
Is there anything better than a cold Shasta? Not a lot,” Herbert
says. “It’s almost as great as a Black woman,” “Feminist
Amplification Activist” Harold Herbert says with all the kitsch of
an infomercial actor. He’s in peak form on a cool Fall day,
likening nearly everything to Black women. “This elevator
elevates 20 people at a time to the top floor. The average Black
woman I know lifts hundreds,” he surmises instead of enjoying the
elevator’s silence.

Whether he knows or not, even his publicist finds him “psychotically
insufferable” (“he’s the type to cut a woman’s hair off to tell
her she should be hair positive”) and quietly questions why an
unemployed twitter user needs a publicist—but respects his ability
to play along with a role that is netting him an immense following.

The 28-year-old Herbert reached the heights of social media fame when his
“At first I didn’t see Black women as human. Now I do” video
released in April. The video has more than 9,000,000 YouTube views
and comments such as, “you acknowledge my humanity so eloquently.
Marry me!”

Herbert says he’s proud of his “work,” which includes making videos,
tweeting, and hawking shirts like his “kiss her stretch marks and
chill” collection. “Speaking for women gives me a feeling that
has immeasurable value,” he says while checking his Paypal account.

Herbert, who studied sociology at the University of Hofstra, says he had an
awakening one day while working at a local Fedex/Kinkos:

“This woman came in with a poster for a #SayHerName event. She told me no men came. And I asked her, I bet you guys would love it if a man was there for the cause. She beamed and said yes, it would be rewarding. At that point I realized that—hold up, let me
tweet it before I tell you (pulls out phone and tweets)–if Black
men can’t protect Black women, we don’t deserve to be protected. I
went home that night and created a “protect Black women” shirt
that I sold.”

Thousands of basic affirmations later, his Twitter account has over 80K
followers. Complex.com recently listed him as one of the “top 20
people who turn stuff you already know into dope tweets”—though
his meteoric rise hasn’t been without controversy.

He starts every day with an “Us Black Men are trash“ tweet, but does little to challenge the misogyny of those on “Black twitter.“ In fact, his “likes“ section houses a good deal of controversial “meninist“ tweets. (Editor’s Note: Herbert unliked the tweets when he realized people could see them)

He’s been banned from 3 women’s conferences for repeatedly interrupting the paid
(women) panelists to input his opinion.

Herbert says, “They were talking about how men view women as objects and
have no respect for their privacy. I told them not all guys! I
told them my body count is high. And I didn’t blow any of them up on
the gram like other guys would. I asked them, ‘I don’t get any credit
for that?’” Herbert says he was forcibly removed when he became
“justifiably angry” that the women wouldn’t thank him for being a
good man.

There was also a controversy in September when he released a video of him
removing a portion of a “MOB (money over b***hes)” back tattoo to
read “NOB (nothing over b***hes).”

Herbert says he meant no harm, and merely turned a “foolish adolescent
decision into a tattoo he hoped women would get and credit
him.” He notes he began selling “be apologetic to women“ shirts after the incident–the proceeds of which all went to him.

Twitter user Jayla Lambert, AKA @MyNameIsAssata noted, “Herbert is
exactly who Ella Baker warned us about. A hustler who speaks for an
oppressed group and uses our continued oppression for a comeup and
MSNBC panel slot.”

Priceless Press photographers argue he’s taking advantage of everyone. When he
arrived for his photo shoot, the crew-who didn’t know what Herbert
looked like–began laughing and rolling their eyes, alleging that
they once saw Herbert call a homeless woman who accosted him while he
was bar hopping in Brooklyn a “filthy b***h.”

Herbert first said it wasn’t him, then surmised that if it was him he
“must’ve” said, “I know that a lot of Black men call you a
filthy b***h,” but the crew is steadfast that they know it was him,
noting he was wearing a shirt from his “lemme eat your booty while
you tell me about your day” collection.

News of Herbert’s name calling may sully his online reputation, but Herbert
says his “devotion to helping Black women acknowledge that they are
a Black woman” will “overshadow any white supremacist
misogynoir.”

When
he was told misogynoir didn’t apply to him as a cishet male, he left
in a huff, angrily tweeting.